It was against a backdrop of raised eyebrows from various family members that 13-year-old Montreal-born Juliette O’Connor borrowed her father’s “grown-up” camera — a Canon AE-1 with interchangeable lenses — and launched what has become an enduring passion for capturing whatever appeals to her eye.Certainly, the teenager never imagined that what she has always regarded as a hobby would lead to her first solo exhibition, now underway, at the Bermuda Society of Arts, and she says she is “humbled” by it. “I was encouraged by former gallery director Peter Lapsley to become a member of the BSoA three years ago after attending an open members’ show,” Mrs. O’Connor says. “I was excited to know that there was a venue for ‘regular, everyday’ people like me to submit their artwork, and, in 2004, I entered the annual photography show.”

With further encouragement from family and friends, she participated in subsequent BSoA shows, all of which led to her solo debut last week.

When it comes to subject matter, Mrs. O’Connor regards the way she sees things as “a gift”.

“Most of us have the gift of sight, but not one of us ‘sees’ things the same way. Just as everyone has a unique finger print, I believe the same rule applies to what we see. Often I see images in the clouds and in Bermuda’s coral shoreline.”

Interestingly, despite Bermuda’s wonderful colours, the amateur photographer frequently sees her subjects in sepia tones, or black and white — an attribute which she acknowledges may sound strange, but which she accepts as a gift.

“My take on life is very simple,” Mrs. O’Connor says. “It is not a philosophical view but rather an inspirational one, and my photography is reflective of this. ‘I saw it, I liked it. ‘Click’. I attempt to capture what I see. At times it is a fleeting moment, and at other times I am searching for something to capture.”

Born in Montreal, Canada to a Canadian mother and a Barbadian father, Mrs. O’Connor says that, with the exception of a black and white photography course “a bazillion years ago”, she has been self-taught, but is currently taking a correspondence course, “learning by way of mentoring, fidgeting with the settings on my camera, and trial and error” and works with a digital camera.

Looking back on the opening of her first solo exhibition, now underway, the corporate sales executive says: “It was humbling, exciting, inspiring and rewarding. I am happy that I did it, and I know I will grow from this experience. I certainly hope that I can live up to some of the accolades that I received, and I also feel that it will challenge me to go to another level. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to people’s comments, which were moving and rewarding. It was fascinating listening to people talk about the feeling and emotion that a particular image evoked in them. That was particularly interesting to me, because it really shows that one image can be interpreted in so many other ways. Overall, I felt that my work was well received,and I would do it again.”

*Entitled ‘Snap Happy’, Mrs. O’Connor’s exhibition continues through June 27. For further information see the Bermuda Calendar.